Both the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils emerged victorious in tense Game 7’s of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series on Thursday, and the MSG people were there to reap the benefits.

The Rangers Game 7 win over the Ottawa Senators drew a 5.4 overnight in the New York market, marking the best rating for a Rangers game on MSG since Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, the last time the Rangers won a championship. The game peaked with an 8.5 in the area at 9:30.

While the Devils are obviously lower on the totem pole in the area, New Jersey’s team also posted stellar numbers for their double overtime Game 7 victory over the Florida Panthers. The game drew a 1.7 overnight in the New York market (which includes parts of Connecticut, NYC and the Devils base in North and Central Jersey). That marks the best rating for a Devils game on MSG Plus since Game 6 of the team’s 2001 Eastern Semifinal against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The game peaked with a 3.4 at 11:30, 45 minutes before Adam Henrique’s game-winner.

NEW YORK – April 27, 2012 – On the strength of a record 16 overtime games, 32 one-goal games, and a new television format that televised every first-round game nationally for the first time, the Conference Quarterfinals of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs delivered record-setting viewership. According to Fast National data released today by The Nielsen Company, the 2012 Conference Quarterfinals:

Averaged 929,000 viewers across NBC, NBC Sports Network and CNBC, making them the most-watched first round on record (cable data not available prior to 1994);

Averaged 744,000 viewers on NBC Sports Network, making them the most-watched in NBC Sports Network history (formerly VERSUS), up 16% from last year (642,000), and the highest on a cable channel in 11 years (ESPN, 745,000 in 2001);

Averaged 2.57 million viewers on NBC for six broadcasts, up 39 percent compared to last year (1.85 million, four games), and making them the most-watched on a broadcast network in 14 years, since Fox averaged 2.76 million viewers in 1998 (two games);

Reached 30.9 million total viewers across NBC, NBC Sports Network and CNBC, (excluding last night’s two Game 7s), up 29% vs. last year (23.9 million).

In addition to the success of the Conference Quarterfinals as a whole, a number of single games also broke records or set milestones. Following are the top-performing games on each channel:

NBC: Capitals-Bruins Game 6 on Sunday, April 22, averaged 3.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Conference Quarterfinal game since the advent of Nielsen People Meters (1987).

NBC Sports Network: The 1.32 million viewers for Wednesday night’s Capitals-Bruins Game 7 made it the most-watched first-round game on cable in 12 years, since 1.51 million viewers watched San Jose-St. Louis Game 7 in 2000 (ESPN). It was also up 43 percent vs. last year’s comparable game (926,000; Was-Mon, Game 7) and was the most-watched first-round game in NBC Sports Network (formerly VERSUS) history.

CNBC: Coverage of the Conference Quarterfinals on CNBC peaked with 621,000 viewers for Coyotes-Blackhawks Game 6 on Monday, April 23. There is no comparison to last year as this is the first year that all NHL playoff games are being televised nationally.

Game 7s: Last night’s two Game 7s delivered strong viewership for NBC Sports Network. The Senators-Rangers game, in which the Rangers won, 2-1, in regulation, went head-to-head with the NFL Draft on two networks and was watched by 984,000 viewers on the NBC Sports Network, up 6% vs. last year’s comparable game (926,000, Bos-Was, Game 7).

The Devils-Panthers contest that saw the Devils advance, 3-2, in double overtime, began on NHL Network and then was simulcast on NBC Sports Network once the Senators-Rangers game had concluded. Devils-Panthers averaged 867,000 viewers for the portions of the game that aired on NBC Sports Network with no joined-in-progress comparison to last year.

NBCSports.com: NHL Extra, which live streams games broadcast on NBC, is up 233% in visits, 208% in unique users, and 276% in live starts over last year. Visitors are also staying on the site 288% longer than last year. During the Conference Quarterfinals, ProHockeyTalk experienced record traffic with 445,000 unique viewers, 526,000 visits, and 1.5 million views.

On the final night of the Stanley Cup Conference Quarterfinals, people stuck with NBC Sports Network for hours and hours.

984,000 viewers tuned into Game 7 between the Rangers and Senators, the fourth-most watched game of the first round on cable. It was also, obviously, the most-watched game of the series on any network. It was up 6% from the comparable game last year, Game 7 of Bruins-Canadiens.

Afterward, NBCSN stuck around for long-term bonus coverage of Devils-Panthers which, due to it’s length, we’re going to count as a full game on my lists. 867,000 viewers tuned in a little past midnight for the Game 7 OT thriller.

Action in the Blues-Kings series kicks off on Saturday, April 28 with Game 1: Los Angeles @ St. Louis at 7 p.m. ET (see complete broadcast schedule below).

TSN also takes a look back at the opening round of the NHL post-season with its 60-minute FIRST ROUND RECAP SHOW tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, leading in to live game coverage of the Phoenix-Nashville series. The highlight show focuses on all of the biggest moments from each First Round series, with close attention paid to the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators’ series, and the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia series.

TSN’s live coverage of the 2012 STANLEY CUP® PLAYOFFS runs through the end of the Third Round.

The network’s extensive coverage of the NHL post-season features play-by-play announcers Gord Miller and Chris Cuthbert and game analysts Ray Ferraro and Darren Pang.

NHL ON TSN host James Duthie is in the TSN studio for pre-game shows and intermissions, alongside Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger, analysts Aaron Ward and Marc Crawford, and guest analyst and former NHL head coach Paul Maurice.

Throughout the NHL Playoffs, fans are well-served with comprehensive post-season coverage across all of TSN’s properties and platforms, including TSN.ca and TSN Radio, plus the TSN Mobile app for BlackBerry and the TSN app for iPad and iPhone. Bell Media sports radio station Team 1410 in Vancouver has live game coverage during the Second Round, while Ottawa’s Team 1200 and Vancouver’s Team 1040 also features extensive playoff coverage.

TSN’s broadcast schedule for the Second Round of the 2012 STANLEY CUP® PLAYOFFS is as follows:

NEW YORK – April 27, 2012 – Day 17 — The NBC Sports Group’s exclusive Conference Semifinal coverage of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs begins tonight in Phoenix with a Western Conference match-up between the #3 Coyotes and the #4 Nashville Predators at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET with NHL Live.

The Eastern Conference Semifinals begin tomorrow on NBC when the #1 Rangers host the #7 Washington Capitals at 3 p.m. ET. Western Conference action continues tomorrow night in St. Louis when the #2 Blues host the #8 Los Angeles Kings at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. On Sunday, the #6 New Jersey Devils and #4 Philadelphia Flyers begin their series in Philadelphia at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. Sunday night, the Coyotes host the Predators again in Game 2 of their series at 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-glass’ analyst) will call both games on NBC this weekend – Capitals at Rangers on Saturday; Devils at Flyers on Sunday. John Forslund (play-by-play) and Joe Micheletti (‘Inside-the-glass’ analyst) will call both Predators-Coyotes games (tonight and Sunday night). Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (‘Inside-the-glass’ analyst) will call Game 1 of Kings-Blues on Saturday night.

Beginning in the second round and continuing through the Stanley Cup Final, all remaining Stanley Cup Playoff games will air exclusively on NBC, NBC Sports Network or CNBC.

ENGBLOM ON BLUES-KINGS: “Goaltending wins championships. This series will prove that again.”

ROENICK ON COYOTES-PREDATORS: “Battle of the two best goalies this year. These teams are eerily similar; teams that win through hard work and defense. This should be a tight series, but an exciting one.”

JONES ON FLYERS: “Good news for the Flyers is they have sat and waited on three other Game 7s in the remaining series. Rest is on the side of the Flyers plus an opportunity to get healthier on their blue line. Nicklas Grossmann has been practicing with the team since missing games against the Penguins in the first round and looks to be available in round two.”

JONES ON CAPITALS: “Great news for Capitals fans whose team knocked off the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. Washington played a complete team game for all seven games in the first round. They are no longer Alexander Ovechkin’s team. It is Dale Hunter’s team now.”

CHANNEL FINDER

With all 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff games airing nationally for the first time, the NBC Sports Group created a channel finder to help fans find NBC, NBC Sports Network or CNBC in their area by simply entering a zip code.

Click here for the channel finder.

PRE-GAME & POST-GAME COVERAGE

NHL Live, NBC Sports Network’s NHL pre-game show, will air every game night at 6:30 p.m. ET. NHL Post-Game will air a 30-minute program following the conclusion of game coverage every night of the playoffs.

COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL COVERAGE

Comcast SportsNet, the local home for the Capitals, Flyers and Sharks, will closely follow hometown team playoff progress with pre- and postgame coverage, breaking news and analysis throughout each team’s playoff run.

NBCSPORTS.COM

NBCSports.com’s fast-growing ProHockeyTalk, which has experienced a 140% increase in unique visitors and a 289% in page views compared to last season, will anchor NBC Sports’ online and mobile coverage of the NHL Playoffs.

Featuring writers Jason Brough & Mike Halford, ProHockeyTalk provides unique, informative and entertaining news, commentary and analysis– updated around the clock — on all the stories surrounding the NHL Playoffs. ProHockeyTalk is also an integral part of the popular NBC Sports Talk app. Other NBCSports.com features will include:

· Online-only videos featuring NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network hockey commentators previewing upcoming playoff games and wrapping-up all of the NHL action that day

· Content provided by Comcast SportsNet NHL insiders

· An NHL Playoffs Channel Finder tool that will help fans locate the times and stations for every NHL playoff broadcast

· “Second screen” companion programming on NBCSports.com for games airing on NBC will include live, in-game video highlights; a live chat with ProHockeyTalk’s Brough & Halford; “Star Cams” featuring alternating, video coverage of the best players on each team, and a newly-introduced “Spotlight Cam,” a just-above-ice-level/center ice look at the action

SOCIAL MEDIA

In addition to broadcast, cable, regional and digital platforms, the NBC Sports Group will connect with NHL fans via numerous social media initiatives, including social integration, on-air integration and news:

Social Integration:

#StanleyCup Hash Tag: NHL Fans can join the conversation by using the #StanleyCup hash tag across every game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Milestone Mania: With the launch of the new Facebook Timeline, fans can explore and answer Stanley Cup Playoffs trivia questions

NHL on NBC Sports Instagram: NHL fans can upload photos to Instagram and use #instahockey. The NHL on NBC Sports Instagram account “Because It’s the Cup” will feature the best fan photos

Live Twitter Chats: Fans will have the opportunity to have live Twitter chats with NHL and NBC Sports personalities and commentators throughout the playoffs

On-Air Integration:

Playoff Polls: Fans can weigh in on a variety of NHL themed polls on Facebook and Twitter that commentators will discuss throughout the broadcasts

#MVPonNBC – During pre-game, post-game and in-game coverage, fans can tweet who they think the #MVPonNBC is. Commentators will discuss the fan favorites and weigh in with their own opinions.

News:

Fans can engange with Twitter (@NHLonNBCSports) and Facebook (facebook.com/NHLonNBCSports) to receive the most up to date tune-in information, scores, reports and stories from around the NHL and ProHockeyTalk.

REMAINING STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF COVERAGE

CONFERENCE FINALS

NBC and the NBC Sports Network will team to provide exclusive coverage of the Conference Finals. NBC will broadcast a game each day on the weekend of May 19-20. The remaining games from both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals will be televised exclusively on the NBC Sports Network.

STANLEY CUP FINAL

For the seventh consecutive year, NBC and the NBC Sports Network (formerly VERSUS) will provide exclusive coverage of the Stanley Cup Final. NBC will broadcast Games 1-2 and Games 5-7 (if necessary), with NBC Sports Network televising Games 3-4.

· Last year’s Stanley Cup Final seven-game series, which featured the Boston Bruins defeating the Vancouver Canucks to claim their first championship since 1972, (Games 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 on NBC and Games 3, 4 on VERSUS) averaged 4.6 million viewers and a household rating of 2.7/5, surpassing the 2004 series (3.3 million, 2.2/4 on ABC/ESPN) as the most-watched combined network/cable Stanley Cup involving a Canadian team ever and up 39 percent from that series

· Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, which saw the Boston Bruins defeat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-0, was watched by 8.54 million people on NBC, making it the most-watched NHL game in 38 years, according to The Nielsen Company

Conference Semifinal action gets underway on CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA with exclusive coverage of the New York Rangers/Washington Capitals series beginning April 28 and the Philadelphia Flyers/New Jersey Devils series which begins on April 29. Both series are available on CBC-TV and streaming online at CBCSports.ca.

The puck drops on the New York/Washington series at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 28 as Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals travel to Manhattan to take on Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers. Play-by-play for this series will be handled by Jim Hughson alongside analyst Craig Simpson with Glenn Healy providing additional analysis from between the benches and Elliotte Friedman reporting from rinkside.

The second Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup between Philadelphia and New Jersey hits the ice on Sunday, April 29 at 3 p.m. ET as Claude Giroux and the Flyers play host to Martin Brodeur and the Devils. The broadcast team for this series includes Bob Cole calling the play-by-play from the booth with analyst Garry Galley and Scott Oake reporting from rinkside.

“With all of the excitement, suspense and stunning upsets that filled the opening round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada can’t wait to share more with hockey fans across the country,” said Julie Bristow, CBC’s Executive Director of Studio and Unscripted Programming. “NHL playoff hockey has become appointment viewing for everyone from intense fans to casual viewers and we will continue to provide them all with the world class, innovative coverage and analysis they expect from us.”

Each night during Round Two, Ron MacLean hosts CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA’s coverage of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs along with Kelly Hrudey and P.J. Stock, providing insight and analysis for all of the Conference Semifinal games. Don Cherry and Coach’s Corner returns in the first intermission while the second intermission features the Hot Stove and Andi Petrillo at the Chevrolet I-Desk.

Viewers on the go can download the Hockey Night in Canada mobile app providing instant access to news, analysis and game highlights. The ultimate “second screen” experience, Hockey Night Playoff Pulse, captures the heartbeat of a nation through in-game polls, pools and near-live access to the best three minutes from every game.

Hockey Night in Canada Radio on SiriusXM hosted Gord Stellick continues Monday through Friday from 3-6 p.m. ET on channel 157. Show podcasts are also available for download from the iTunes Store.

Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi presented by Chevrolet continues with Harnarayan Singh handling play-by-play duties for Round Two with coverage of the New York/Washington series. The Punjabi broadcasts will be available on Rogers Cable channel 799, Shaw Digital TV channel 328, Shaw Direct classic channel 480 and advanced channel 429, TELUS Optik TV channel 131 and on Bell TV and FIBE TV channel 232 and will also be streamed live and on-demand on CBCSports.ca.